We 127 civil society organisations, trade unions and defenders of the public interest write to emphasise our serious alarm at the forthcoming EU Digital Omnibus proposals, part of a wide deregulation agenda.
What is being presented as a “technical streamlining” of EU digital laws is, in reality, an attempt to covertly dismantle Europe’s strongest protections against digital threats. These are the protections that keep everyone’s data safe, governments accountable, protect people from having artificial intelligence (AI) systems decide their life opportunities, and ultimately keep our societies free from unchecked surveillance.
Unless the European Commission changes course, this would be the biggest rollback of digital fundamental rights in EU history. It is being done under the radar, using rushed and opaque processes designed to avoid democratic oversight.
This worrying approach has been seen extensively across existing Omnibus proposals, with democratic safeguards ignored. As a result, supposedly minimal changes under the guise of “simplification” have already jeopardised Europe’s core social and environmental protections. Together, these changes risk worsening working conditions, allowing dangerous chemicals into cosmetics, and polluting the air and water – making people even more exposed to harm.
In the upcoming Digital Omnibus, the Commission will reportedly weaken the only clear rule that stops companies and governments from constantly tracking what people do on their devices, part of the ePrivacy framework. This will make it a lot easier for those in power to control people’s phones, cars or smart homes, while also revealing sensitive information about where people go, and with whom.
This matters more than ever: a new investigation reveals that commercially-traded location data has been used to spy on EU officials, as well as people going about their daily lives. This included revealing their home addresses, as well as visits to healthcare clinics and places of worship. Weakening these protections now would legitimise those abuses.
Europe’s recently-adopted AI rules are also at risk of being undermined, with the Omnibus set to remove some of the guardrails designed to ensure that AI is developed safely and without discrimination, as well as delaying key elements like penalties for selling dangerous AI systems.
Currently, anyone developing AI tools which could have an impact on important decisions (like whether people can access their benefits) would need to register in a public database. Yet with the proposed changes, those providing AI tools could unilaterally and secretly exempt themselves from all obligations – and neither the public nor authorities would know.
Even the EU’s gold-standard data protection law, one of Europe’s proudest achievements, is being reopened and hollowed out – with changes set to allow companies to mark their own homework. This would irreversibly alter one of the few laws that rightly gives all people – including workers, children and undocumented people – control over their sensitive information.
Whilst stronger enforcement is still needed, the GDPR is one of the few mechanisms that gives members of the public mechanisms to challenge powerful companies or authorities when they overstep – but deregulation is giving corporate actors more power than ever.
The Omnibus would also make it easier for tech companies to train resource-intensive AI systems at the expense of people and, ultimately, the planet. These systems ingest vast amounts of personal data and consume unsustainable amounts of natural resources such as energy and water – all without the benefits of this technology being clearly evidenced.
The EU’s tech policy framework is the best defence we have against digital exploitation and surveillance by both domestic and foreign actors. If the EU truly aims to ease compliance with these laws, they should better support companies and authorities with the guidance and tools to keep people safe in the digital world – not dismantle the frameworks that provide legal clarity for businesses.
By recasting vital laws like the GDPR, ePrivacy, AI Act, DSA, DMA, Open Internet Regulation (DNA), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and other crucial laws as “red tape”, the EU is giving in to powerful corporate and state actors who oppose the principles of a fair, safe and democratic digital landscape and who want to lower the bar of EU laws for their own benefit.
We therefore urge the European Commission to:
- Immediately halt any attempts to reopen the GDPR, ePrivacy framework, AI Act or other core digital rights protections;
- Reaffirm the EU’s commitment to rights-based digital governance, including strong enforcement of existing protections; and
- Uphold institutional accountability, enable meaningful civil society and impacted community engagement, and preserve the integrity of the EU’s democratic process.
It is not too late for the European Commission to change course to defend, not dismantle, the laws that protect us all.
Signatories:
5Rights Foundation
Access Now
Ada Lovelace Institute
Adéquations
AI Accountability Lab (AIAL), Trinity College Dublin
AI Forensics
AK EUROPA
Algorights
AlgorithmWatch
AlgorithmWatch CH
Alternatif Bilisim
Amnesty International
ARTICLE 19
Asociația pentru Tehnologie și Internet
Aspiration
Associació Pangea – Coordinadora Comunicació per a la Cooperació
Austrian Trade Union Federation / Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (ÖGB)
Avaaz Foundation
Balanced Economy Project
Berufsverband der Datenschutzbeauftragten Deutschlands BvD) e.V.
Bits of Freedom
CEE Digital Democracy Watch
Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH)
Centre for Civil Initiatives Poreč
Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe
Centre for Peace Studies
CESI
Chaos Computer Club
Citizens Network Watchdog Poland
Civil Liberties Union for Europe
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)
D64 – Center for Digital Progress
Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja
Data for Good
Defend Democracy
Deutsche Vereinigung für Datenschutz e.V. (DVD)
Die Armutskonferenz.
Digital Action
Digital Society, Switzerland
Digitalcourage e.V.
Digitale Gesellschaft
Digitalfems
Državljan D / Citizen D
Ecologistas en Acción
Ekō
Electronic Frontier Norway (EFN)
epicenter.works – for digital rights
EU DisinfoLab
European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL)
European Civic Forum (ECF)
European Coalition for Corporate Justice
European Digital Rights (EDRi)
European Disability Forum (EDF)
European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
European Network Against Racism (ENAR)
European Public Service Union (EPSU)
European Sex Workers Alliance
Federación de Consumidores y Usuarios CECU
Féministes contre le cyberharcèlement
Forum Diseguaglianze e Diversità (Forum DD) Italy – Inequality and Diversity Forum
Forum for Freedom in Education
Forum InformatikerInnen für Frieden und gesellschaftliche Verantwortung (FIfF)
Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR)
Friends of the Earth Ireland
GLOBAL 2000
Global Witness
Gong
The Good Lobby Italia
Greek Forum of Migrants
Groupe International D’Etudes Transdisciplinaires
HateAid
Hermes Center
Homo Digitalis
Hope and Courage Collective
IA Ciudadana
Information Legal Centre
Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya
Irídia – Human Rights Defence Centre
Irish Council for Civil Liberties
ISKORAK
IT-Pol Denmark
IUWMST Montenegro
K-Monitor Association
Lafede – justícia global
Lie Detectors
Life Quality Improvement Organisation FLIGHT
Ligue des droits humains (Belgium)
LobbyControl
Mouvement Ecologique, FoE Luxembourg
Mreza mladih Hrvatske / Croatian Youth Network
Nasc – Refugee and Migrant Rights Centre
Nederlands Juristen Comité voor de Mensenrechten (NJCM, Dutch section of the International Commission of Jurists)
Norwegian Consumer Council
noyb, European Center for Digital Rights
ÖBV – Via Campesina Austria
Open Markets Institute
Osservatorio Nessuno OdV
Palombar – Nature and Rural Heritage Conservation
Panoptykon Foundation
People vs Big Tech
Period Think Tank
Politiscope
Privacy First
Privacy Network
Privacy International
Psst.org
PublicSpaces
SETEM Catalunya
Sherpa
SOMO
Stichting Algorithm Audit
StraLi – Strategic Litigations
Technopolice BXL
The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud (Norway)
Transparency International EU
UGS NEZAVISNOST
UNBLACK THE BOX
Verband Freier Rundfunk Österreich
Vrijschrift.org
Waag Futurelab
Weaving Liberation
WHAT TO FIX
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
WITNESS
Zaklada Slagalica (Community Foundation Slagalica)
Zašto Ne
Zentrum für Digitalrechte und Demokratie